Two roads diverged in a wood and I – I took the one less traveled by - Robert Frost

17 April 2019, Rehoboth to Windhoek, 90,9km
Backpackers Unite N$395

“Whenever I do over 200km per hour, my car overheats.” Just as we arrived at a roadside picnic spot, a man driving a new white VW Polo swooped to a stop near us, leapt from his car to open the bonnet, and began an agitated conversation on his cell phone. A little later, as we left the shaded cement table and benches at which we had eaten something and rehydrated, Charl asked the man what was happening and received the 200kph explanation. Our Rehoboth guest house owner had told us that the stretch of road between Rehoboth and Windhoek is particularly busy, claiming lives. He said many people commute between the two cities, and that speed is of the essence as drivers do not want to miss “Sewende Laan” (Seventh Avenue), a popular South African early-evening TV soapie. The many roadside crosses we passed today, confirmed Bill’s opinion of the dangers.
If you look at the map elevation below, you will see that the road climbs north for around 75km, before dropping into Windhoek. Uncertain of our ability to do the entire distance, we had found two potential accommodation options en route the capital: one 50km from Rehoboth, the other just 11km outside Windhoek. Out of Nature, sited opposite an enormous golf estate with roaming emu and a very green bowling green, offered rooms beyond our budget. As we were still feeling relatively fresh, we decided to push on, unaware that the road was about to get a lot tougher. A section of it had been newly tarred, the bitumen in some places still wet. On the hills too steep to cycle, we walked, picked up clumps of tar and small gravel under our shoes, which subsequently stuck obstinately to our pedals, making for a less-than-comfortable riding experience. By the time we reached Monteiro Self-Catering and Camping, although virtually within sight of Windhoek, we were tired enough to consider spending the night. But then Charl said that would mean a boring self-cooked pasta meal and, more importantly, nowhere to buy a Coke, and thus I was persuaded to go on.
In truth, had we not been so exhausted, the last 11km into Windhoek would have been easy, being predominantly downhill, a run taking one past Heroes Acre*. But we were not to have it easy … added to our tiredness, was a puncture courtesy of a large camelthorn, and peak hour traffic with an annoying detour off the jam-packed B1. But Google Maps got us to our backpackers in the end, 11 hours after leaving Rehoboth.
*Heroes' Acre [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heroes%27_Acre_(Namibia)] is an official war memorial of the Republic of Namibia… opened on 26 August 2002 [it] operates for the purpose of "foster(ing) a spirit of patriotism and nationalism, and to pass on the legacy to the future generations of Namibia"… It is built as a symmetric polygon with a marble obelisk and a bronze statue of the Unknown Soldier at its centre. The site contains parade grounds and a grandstand for 5000 people. The burial site consists of 174 tombs, not all of which are currently occupied. Mansudae Overseas Projects, a company from North Korea, was given a N$60 million contract from Namibia to build the 732-acre (2.96 km2) monument. The contract was awarded without any competitive tendering process, and eventually the construction cost doubled.

For today's route see below photos
For overview route, click on ROUTE tab above…